This invention relates to a cart brake intended for use on wheeled carts of the general type used by shoppers in stores to hold and transport selected goods while shopping, and to transport the goods to a checkout location and, optionally, into a parking lot where the goods are transferred to a vehicle. These carts may have a goods-holding container made of intersecting metal wire or rod stock, solid or perforated plastic. A laterally-extending bar handle extends across the rear of the container by which the cart can be pulled, pushed and steered by the user. Many of these carts also include a rear-facing child seat. The brake invention also encompasses use on similar carts often used in airports to transport luggage to and from luggage check areas.
These containers are typically mounted on a frame which is, in turn, mounted on a pair of rear wheels and a pair of front steerable caster wheels. These carts are often taken into areas, such as parking lots or ramps that are sloped, with a heavy load. If the user takes his or her hands off of the handle when, for example, unloading the contents of the container or lifting a child from the child seat, the cart may begin to roll away from the user. It may impact nearby vehicles or turn over, causing damage to the vehicles and the cart. If a child is seated in the child seat, the child may be injured.
These carts are not known to include a brake. The user is responsible having another person hold the cart while it is being unloaded, or may rest the cart against a stationary support when unloading goods or a child to maintain the cart in a stationary condition in order to prevent damage and/or injury.
For this reason, there is a need for a brake that can either be installed during manufacture of the cart, or easily and quickly retrofitted to existing fleets of carts at their use location, such as a grocery store or home center store.